England men’s team managing director Rob Key has said it would have been “too soon” to make Harry Brook the new Test captain, explaining why the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to bring back Joe Root instead.Root’s return as full-time Test captain was confirmed on Thursday, along with the appointment of Stephen Fleming as England’s new Test head coach after Ben Stokes retired from international cricket and Brendon McCullum stepped down from the role.Brook, who is England’s white-ball captain, was made Test vice-captain before last year’s Ashes and has been Stokes’ deputy since then.However, he was not given the captaincy when Stokes missed the second Test against New Zealand earlier this summer, and has again missed out despite showing interest in the role.Key said he and Fleming had detailed discussions about the captaincy before the former New Zealand captain accepted the coaching job. Both felt Root was the right choice at this stage.“In an ideal world, what you want is the coach has a say in a captain,” Key explained. “Coach first, then you work out the captain – I explained that to anyone that had a chance of becoming England captain.“During the process, you are obviously speaking to different coaches and [the captaincy] is one of the questions you start asking, getting a feel for where they are at. Stephen and I spoke a lot about who we felt the best person was.”Key said Brook still needs more time before taking charge of the Test side, while Root is ready to lead again.“It’s just too soon for Harry Brook. This feels the right time for Joe Root. He has the chance to work with what I believe is the best coach that will complement him as well. Those two will be a great complementary pairing to take England forward. He is our best ever batter, and now has the chance to captain the side without any of the stuff he had to deal with last time. I’m just so glad he gets that chance,” Key said as quoted by The Independent.Root had earlier admitted that he developed an “unhealthy relationship” with the captaincy during his previous spell, which ended after England managed only one win in 17 Tests during a period affected by the Covid pandemic.The 35-year-old enjoyed working with McCullum during England’s recent Test series against New Zealand and will now begin a new partnership with Fleming, who is widely respected for his leadership during his playing career.Even though Brook missed out this time, Key said the Yorkshire batter remains England’s long-term captaincy option.“I think he is still developing as a player and a person, really,” the former Kent and England batter said of Brook. “The Test match job is the biggest job in cricket in England. I think that it is perfect now with Joe where he can take this ship forward as the most senior player by a long way, and Harry can continue on the project he has done in the white-ball job, and continue learning to become an outstanding leader of a cricket team.““You’ve got the 2027 World Cup, all of those things. At some stage, Harry Brook will be an outstanding Test captain of England cricket. It just doesn’t feel the time was right now.”
